


Silence

by Jay_Angelin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Post-Canon, Sad and Happy, mostly sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22873516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jay_Angelin/pseuds/Jay_Angelin
Summary: Sirius Black Returns from the Veil.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 26





	1. Silence

**Author's Note:**

> _Image made by disenchantedglow_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is the silence of a great hatred,  
> And the silence of a great love,  
> And the silence of a deep peace of mind,  
> And the silence of an embittered friendship,  
> There is the silence of a spiritual crisis,  
> Through which your soul, exquisitely tortured,  
> Comes with visions not to be uttered  
> [Silence by Edgar Lee Masters](https://owlcation.com/humanities/Edgar-Lee-Masters-Silence)

Years of botched plans and failed attempts hung heavy in the room.

The air was ice cold. There was a slight breeze coming out of the archway. Whispers seemed to float out on the gentle wind as if caressing the skin of the onlookers and enticing them to come forward.

Hermione Weasley slowly let out a breath as she realized she had been holding it for what seemed like an eternity. She glanced over at her husband of 26 years and found an emotionless and unreadable look on his face.

A single tear slipped down her cheek as she looked back at the Veil and realized this time would be like all of the others. A failure.

Harry reached out his hand and squeezed her shoulder.

“Don’t cry, Hermione. We mourned for him 30 years ago,” He looked over at Ron catching his eye, and looked back at Hermione, “I think it’s time we finally put Sirius to rest.”

Harry walked over to the Unspeakable who was on the dais with them to help him replace the protective wards for the Veil they had created together over 20 years ago. It was a safety precaution they had put in place so there would never be a repeat of what had happened to Sirius.

Hermione spun around to face Ron and whispered urgently to him, “But it should have worked this time. I’m sure of it.”

A look of pain crossed Ron’s face as he reached for his wife’s hand. She jerked from his grasp not wanting to be consoled.

“But we can save him,” she pleaded. “We can’t give up now.”

Ron took a deep breath and silently prayed before he said, “Hermione, dear. You said yourself that Sirius could be saved, but only if he were still alive when he went through the veil,” he tucked her brown and grey hair behind her ear. “We replayed all of our memories a thousand times from that night and no one knows what curse he was hit with. We can never know for sure.”

Harry parted ways with the Unspeakable, thanked him for his time like always, and asked for a few more moments alone with his friends.

After the last footfalls were heard Harry finally addressed the two closest friends he had in the entire world.

“Thank you,” he started. He needed those words to sink in as they were never enough. Not for the two people standing in the room with him. Always standing with him.

“For everything you have both done to try and save Sirius. It’s more than any good friend would do,” he closed his eyes and clamped his hand, “I can’t do this anymore,” the pain of those words tore through him as he opened his eyes and emerald green glistened with unshed tears. “We should have stopped a long time ago,” he chuckled to try and keep from crying, “But we’re not exactly the ‘let’s give up’ type, are we?”

They stood there for a moment longer. Hermione threw her arms around Harry. “I’m so sorry, Harry. I was so sure. I wish I could do more.”

“It’s okay,” he said to reassure her as his arms came around her too, “You’ve done plenty enough."

Hermione pulled away, her sniffles to be attended to by Ron with an outstretched hand and a handkerchief. His arm went around her waist as he led his wife for the last time out of the Department of Mysteries.

Harry slowly followed behind his two best friends as they tried to collect themselves before heading to their son’s Hugo’s first quidditch game of the season with the Chudley Cannons.

He excused himself from apparating with them. He didn’t even remember what excuse he gave, all Harry knew was that he wanted to be at home instead of under the watchful eyes of the public.


	2. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Take this kiss upon the brow!  
> And, in parting from you now,  
> Thus much let me avow —  
> You are not wrong, who deem  
> That my days have been a dream;  
>   
>  [ A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe ](https://interestingliterature.com/2018/12/a-dream-within-a-dream-a-poem-by-edgar-allan-poe/)

First, there was nothing.

An absense of existance.

There was a spark and then finally a moment of self-realization.

His mind was blank as he felt himself take a breath of life.

Then his mind was full of wonder. Where was he? What was he doing? Where was he going? He felt as if he had been asleep for a very long time and the fog of just waking was clearing.

Sirius Black opened his eyes.

Confusion set in as he looked around to what felt familiar but he couldn't place where he was. He somehow knew he was home but he wasn’t sure what room he was in.

Sirius wondered for a moment if he was dreaming as he couldn’t remember what he was doing moments before and didn’t know how he came to be standing where he was.

To his left was his father’s desk, but it looked better-taken care of then the last time he had seen it. To his right the fireplace was unchanged. However, the mantel was full of family photos. He stepped towards it for a closer look. His father’s office looked warm and inviting which yanked on Sirius’ instincts that something was very wrong.

As his mind continued to clear, he remembered being in here just earlier that day, but then it was dark and unkempt. There were no comfortable looking chairs or brightly colored carpets.

Sirius shook his head trying to gather his thoughts as he stepped up to the mantel to inspect the photos.

He had been there that very day, he was sure of it. Why couldn’t he remember? Why was he in the study? As he looked at the photos he saw a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room but they looked slightly different. More mature, maybe? He looked at another photo and didn’t recognize anyone in it. Then there was another photo of Harry with almost thirty classmates which Sirius assumed was Harry’s D.A. group. Then Sirius saw it. Harry and Ginny holding a newborn baby in a hospital room at St. Mungo’s. He almost thought it was a picture of James and Lily. But they had given birth to Harry in a muggle hospital. Ginny was crying as Harry was holding her and the baby looking back and forth between the two of them.

The truth of Sirius’ situation started to unravel itself as he continued to take in all of Harry’s photos through the years.

There was a picture of Ginny flying in full quidditch gear, and it was even autographed by Ginny, ‘to my wonderful husband, and biggest fan, Love you Always.’

“No,” Sirius finally said to an empty room. He couldn’t stop it, he picked up a photo and sank to his knees, as tears started to pour down his face. He wiped the drops that fell on the photo as he watched a very happy and older Harry and Ginny pull their three children in for a tight family hug. The girl was wearing graduation robes and it was the last straw for Sirius.

He remembered.

He was dueling Bellatrix and she met him curse for curse until he started to fall back. And then there was nothing. He couldn’t remember the distinct feeling of passing out or being stunned. He didn’t even remember hitting the ground.

Sirius stood and frantically searched the photo’s trying to find pictures of himself. He couldn’t rationalize what was happening and his body was suddenly wracked with sobs. His fingers clumsily knocked over photo after photo until he saw it. His heartbeats slowed to a crawl. He pulled the photo towards him and he slowly made his way to a nearby armchair. The photo tightly clutched in his hand. He held it to his chest as he finally allowed himself to truly cry for all that he had lost.

He didn’t cry when he found James’ body first because he had to focus on Lily and Harry. His entire body had felt numb as he made his way upstairs to then find Lily’s lifeless body. He still didn’t cry. He had wrapped Harry tightly in his blanket, just the way that Lily had taught him to. He didn’t cry when he handed Harry off to Hagrid. He laughed when Peter got away. He didn’t cry when he was carted off to Azkaban or after he realized no one was coming to claim his innocence. He didn’t cry when Remus and Harry finally knew the truth about him and Peter. He didn’t cry when he realized how much of Harry’s life he had missed, or how much of his own life he had missed. And he certainly didn’t cry when his hopes of being free were dashed after Peter’s escape. He never let that sorrow touch him.

He cried now.

He had missed everything, and he still didn’t understand why. Soon the tears stopped falling. Then later his shoulders stopped shaking. And then, finally, he fell asleep with the photo still clasped tightly to his chest.


	3. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _THEY are all gone into the world of light!  
>  And I alone sit lingering here;  
> Their very memory is fair and bright,  
> And my sad thoughts doth clear._   
>  [Beyond the Veil by Henry Vaughn](https://www.bartleby.com/40/225.html)

That was how Harry found him. He startled Sirius awake as he opened the door to his study. Shock covered Harry’s face as he stood there in the doorway with his hand still on the knob. He stood rigid as he looked at his godfather exactly as he remembered him.

For Sirius, it was as if his hope was dashed that this couldn’t be some horrible nightmare. Harry’s hair was peppered in grey.

Sirius held out the photo he was holding and simply asked, “Remus?”

It was all he could muster. There was no happy hug and an “It’s so good to see you” exchanged between the two.

A moment passed as Harry’s shock cleared and he took the outstretched photo. He looked down briefly already knowing which picture was being handed to him. He shut the door. He then took a seat across from Sirius in front of the grate. He needed no explanation on why Sirius Black was standing in his study. It never even crossed his mind that this was some betrayer or faker come to hoodwink his way into Harry’s life. He automatically knew. This was his godfather. And his entire life was going to be shattered one more time as he explained everything that had happened while he had been gone.

Harry looked down again at the picture of Teddy and his fiancé Victioré. His eyes met Sirius’ again briefly and shook his head, “I’m so sorry. Remus and Tonks died at the Battle of Hogwarts,” Harry looked back at him, “The day Voldemort died.”

Sirius nodded having already suspected the truth from the lack of photos, and the strong resemblance of the man in the photo he had held.

“The boy?” he asked looking at the photo again, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“Teddy,” Harry said, pain etched in his voice, “Remus’ son. My Godson,” then he added, “That’s his fiancé, Victioré Weasley, Bill and Fleur’s daughter.”

Sirius nodded again, his face empty. “Wormtail?” He asked not being able to bring himself to say his actual name.

“Dead,” Harry said, his face firm. “His silver hand that Voldemort gave him choked him right in front of me. When he tried to help me and Ron escape from the dungeon at Malfoy manor. Bellatrix was torturing Hermione and Voldemort could have come back at any time,” Harry looked away, still unsure how to feel about Peter after all this time. “He was forced to kill himself because he betrayed Voldemort.”

“Good,” Sirius said still with no sign of emotion.

“And Bellatrix?”

“Battle of Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley killed her." Harry smiled slightly, "Shouldn’t have messed with Ginny. Plus, I think Molly missed you more than she let on.”

Sirius nodded again, “Dumbledore?”

Harry tried not to reveal how much answering that question would hurt him. He kept his face straight as he said, “He died at the end of my sixth year,” he put his head down in his hands, “He was already dying and he asked Severus to kill him to save Draco from doing it.”

“Of course, he volunteered,” Sirius quipped, spinning his head to look at Harry.

Harry sighed, “It’s a very long story but Snape was a good man. He loved my mother. He protected me since my first year at Hogwarts and Voldemort wouldn’t be dead without all he had done.” Harry paused for a moment before adding, “He died at the Battle of Hogwarts as well. Voldemort killed him personally.”

Sirius put his hands on his knees as if to brace himself.

“And me?”

Harry shook his head starring Sirius dead in the eye, “I don’t know,” he pressed his hand to his mouth and swallowed. “Bellatrix hit you. You fell back into the Veil.” Harry’s cheeks started to turn red as he fought back tears, “You disappeared. Hermione, Ron, and I have been working for years to find a way to get you back. The last time we tried was almost a year ago. I can’t explain where you’ve been or why you’re here now. I was hoping you would know.”

Sirius shook his head and stared at the empty grate.

“How old are you?” Sirius said in a low voice as he watched Harry run his hands through his black and grey hair.

“I just turned 48 three months ago,” he stood and grabbed a photo of his family from vacation the year before. He wiped his face before he knelt beside Sirius to show him.

“This was last year. That’s James. James Sirius,” he pointed at the brown-haired man that looked like he was trying to grow a goatee with his arms around a pretty blonde. “And his girlfriend Olivia.”

“Ginny doesn’t like her,” Sirius remarked.

Harry chuckled, “No, she doesn’t. She was a Hufflepuff and terrible at quidditch. _And_ they had a pregnancy scare when they were 17. He’s 25 now. That’s Al. The one trying to act like he hates family photos. Albus Severus. He’s 22.”

Sirius almost smiled, “He has your mum’s eyes too,” he said as he looked at the spitting image of Harry in the photo.

Then Harry said proudly, “And that’s my baby girl. She’s just turned 20 and graduates from the Auror academy in November. Lily Luna. She might look like Ginny, but she’s just like me.”

“She’s beautiful, Harry.” Sirius leaned back in his chair and rested his head on the back.

“Harry?”

“Yes.”

“You’re 13 years older than me.”

Harry nodded even though Sirius couldn’t see him. There was nothing he could say.

“I’m the only one left,” Sirius said heartbroken looking at Harry. “I’ve missed everything,” he shook his head, tears threatening to fall again, “I’ve missed my life. I’ve missed your life. I don’t even know you. Why didn’t I die with the others?”

Harry pulled Sirius up from the chair and held him as tightly as possible.

“You’re here because you’re supposed to be. I need you, Sirius. And you still have a long life to live.”

Sirius held on tightly to Harry to anchor himself to this world, afraid to be yanked away again.


End file.
